Applied Information Technology Department
Course Syllabus
IT 108 Programming Fundamentals
revised 08.30.2010
Catalog Description
Introduces programming fundamentals and presents software development
process. Students learn to write programs in high-level, object-oriented
language.
Prerequisites
The prerequisite for this course is IT 103 (or an approved equivalent
course). A grade of "C" or better must be achieved in the prerequisite
course before a student is qualified to take this course. The prerequisite
course must be completed prior to, not concurrently with, this course.
Rationale
Programming is an essential skill for IT students and IT professionals.
Understanding how a computer is instructed to accomplish tasks leads to
an appreciation of the underlying concepts of the Information Technology
discipline. Learning how to solve a problem using a structured or objectoriented programming language provides a strong foundation that will be
used in Database, Security, Web Development and Networking courses.
Educational
Objective
Course Outcomes
To introduce students to problem solving using a high-level, objectoriented programming language as a tool
1. Design solutions to problems using procedural and object‐oriented
techniques.
2. Use procedural programming techniques effectively (including
expressions, decisions, repetition structures, methods, parameters and
variables scope) that use both primitive and reference types
3. Apply techniques of basic object-oriented programming effectively
(including creating class diagrams, implementing information hiding
and encapsulation)
Copyright © 2009 Irene E. Bruno, PhD. All rights reserved.
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IT 108
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Syllabus
Major Topics
On successful completion of this course, students will be able to:
 Define and use data of both primitive and reference types effectively.
 Create and use simple and complex static data structures.
 Design solutions to problems using procedural and object-oriented techniques.
 Decide on an appropriate repetition and/or selection structures for given problems.
 Apply the techniques of structured (functional) decomposition to break a program into
smaller pieces.
 Describe the mechanics of parameter passing and the issues associated with scoping.
 Discuss and identify the concepts of encapsulation, abstraction, and inheritance.
 Design, implement, test, and debug simple programs in an object-oriented programming
language.
 Describe how the class mechanism supports encapsulation and information hiding.
 Understand the conditions on overloading methods in an object-oriented language.
 Describe the relationship between the static structure of the class and the dynamic structure
of the instances of the class.
 Describe how constructors and destructors relate to the life of an object.
 Describe the relationship between an object and its corresponding class.
 Discuss the importance of algorithms in the problem-solving process.
 Identify the necessary properties of good algorithms.
 Create algorithms for solving simple problems.
 Use a programming language to implement, test, and debug algorithms for solving simple
problems.
 Apply effective debugging strategies.
Copyright © 2010 Irene E. Bruno, PhD. All rights reserved.
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IT 108
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Syllabus
References
Textbook
There is one required textbook for this course:
Java for Everyone
Cay Horstmann
ISBN-10: 0471791911
ISBN-13: 978-0471791911
Publisher: Wiley (February 2, 2010)
Format: Paper; 515 pp
Faculty and Staff
Instructor and Teaching Assistant information can be found via PatriotWeb and the course
Blackboard site.
Administrative support:
Fairfax campus
Shirley Mancada
http://eagle.gmu.edu/map/buildings/engineering.php , Room 5400
Phone: 703-993-3565
Prince William campus
Cindy Woodfork
Bull Run Hall, Suite 102
Phone: 703-993-8461
Copyright © 2010 Irene E. Bruno, PhD. All rights reserved.
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IT 108
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Syllabus
Grading
Grades will be awarded in accordance with the GMU Grading System for undergraduate students.
See http://www.gmu.edu/catalog/apolicies/ under Grading System for more
information.
The grading scale for this course is:
99 – 100%
A+
Passing
92 – 98%
A
Passing
90 – 91%
APassing
88 – 89%
B+
Passing
82 – 87%
B
Passing
80 – 81%
BPassing
78 – 79%
C+
Passing
72 – 77%
C
Passing
70 – 71%
CPassing*
60 – 69%
D
Passing*
0 – 59%
F
Failing
* Grades of "C-" and "D" are considered passing grades for undergraduate courses. However, a
minimum grade of "C" is required in the BSIT program for any course that is a prerequisite for one or
more other courses. This course is a prerequisite for several courses in BSIT Concentrations – see
http://www.gmu.edu/catalog/courses/it.html for more information on those
courses.
Raw scores may be adjusted by the Instructor to calculate final grades.
Final grades will be determined based on the following components:
Activity
Final Exam
Midterm Exam
In-Lab Assignments
Programming
Assignments
Project
Distribution
40%
25%
10%
15%
10%
These components are outlined in the following sections.
Copyright © 2010 Irene E. Bruno, PhD. All rights reserved.
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IT 108
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Syllabus
In-Lab Assignments
Some lab assignments are to be completed during the assigned lab time for the course whereas
others will be due several days later. They will either be treated as a quiz or regular
assignment, to be determined by the instructor. For regular assignments, students may use
any resources available to complete the assignment, including their text, notes, Internet
resources and discussion with classmates. Acceptance of late assignments will be at the
discretion of the GTA. Students may submit incomplete assignments for partial credit.
There may or may not be lab quizzes during the course. Lab Quizzes are to be completed
during the assigned lab time for the course. Students may only use their text and written notes
to complete the quizzes. Students may not use Internet resources and there may not be
discussion with classmates. Students must be present in the lab to submit these quizzes.
Students will only be allowed to make up a lab quiz under extreme conditions and approval to
do so will be at the discretion of the instructor. No late quizzes will be accepted.
Programming Assignments and Project
Each student individually will prepare and submit a solution to each programming assignment
and phases of the project in accordance with requirements to be discussed in class and
published on the Blackboard Learning System. Acceptance of late assignments will be at the
discretion of the instructor. Students may submit incomplete assignments for partial credit.
These assignments must be completed by the student. Assistance may be requested from the
instructor, GTA or UTA. Other assistance may be considered an Honor Code violation.
Mid-term exam
The mid-term exam is a department-wide exam and will be conducted during the scheduled
class session in Week 8 (October 18-21) and will be based on topics addressed from
Chapters 1-5. The mid-term exam will be “closed book” – no reference materials other than
those provided with the exam paper will be permitted. It is possible that a sheet (front and
back) of individually-prepared sheet of notes will be allowed for the exam.
Final exam
The final exam is a department-wide exam and will be held during the scheduled final exam
session (see http://registrar.gmu.edu/ ) and will be based on topics addressed
throughout the entire course. The final exam will be “closed book” – no reference materials
other than those provided with the exam paper will be permitted. It is possible that a sheet
(front and back) of individually-prepared sheet of notes will be allowed for the exam. Final
exams will be retained by the Department of Applied Information Technology and will not be
returned to students.
Final grades will be posted to PatriotWeb, which is the only vehicle for students to obtain those
grades. A student with a "hold" on his/her PatriotWeb account will be unable to access final grades
until the hold has been removed by the Registrar.
Copyright © 2010 Irene E. Bruno, PhD. All rights reserved.
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Syllabus
Schedule
Lecture
1
2
3
Class Content
Problem Solving
Introduction to Computers, Programs, and
Java
Problem Solving
Top-Down Design, Sequence, Selection,
Repetition, Algorithmic Design
Reading
Chapter-1
4
Primitive Data Types and Assignment, GUI
and Console Input and Output
Chapter-2
5
Typecasting, Compound Assignment
Operators, Increment and Decrement
Operators and Efficiency
Chapter 2
6
Selection Statements: if, if/else, switch
Chapter-3
7
Selection Statements: tertiary operator,
nested selection statements. Translation of
selection statements from algorithmic
design
Repetition – presentation of three loops,
choosing the appropriate loop structure,
translation of repetition statements from
algorithmic design
Repetition – use of sentinel value, user input
validation, use of break/continue
Methods – using top down design in
algorithms, method definition and
invocation, use of parameters
Methods – local variables and parameters,
variable scope, method abstraction and
stepwise refinement, method reuse
Methods – method overloading, code
efficiency, Math class, generating Random
numbers
Midterm Exam
Chapter 3
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
Arrays – storage and use of basic arrays,
efficient use of memory
15
Arrays – using arrays as parameters and
method return values
Copyright © 2010 Irene E. Bruno, PhD. All rights reserved.
Chapter 4
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 5
Chapter 5
Chapters 1 - 5
Chapter 6
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Arrays – Searching and Sorting, the Arrays
Class
Arrays – used in problem-solving, using
two-dimensional arrays
Objects and Classes – using OO design,
encapsulation, objects as reference
variables, efficiency and reuse, types of
methods used in classes (accessor, mutator,
constructor and special purpose)
Objects and Classes – using objects as
parameters and method return values,
construction and destruction of objects.
Implementation of objects from algorithmic
design
Objects and Classes – static variables and
methods, efficiency
Objects and Classes – arrays as static and
instance variables, arrays of objects
Objects and Classes – implementation of
OO design and stepwise refinement to
create a solution to a problem of a
significant size
Strings – using the String and Character
classes
Strings – a full lifecycle application of all
concepts covered in the course thus far
Files – basic files, using text files
Chapter 6
Chapter 8
27
Files – implementing error detection in
applications that use files
Files
28
Final Exam Review
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
Chapter 6
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 7
Chapter 7
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 8
This schedule is subject to revision before and throughout the course.
Registered students should see the Blackboard Learning System for the latest class schedule.
Important Dates
Dates for adding, dropping the course, etc. are available via: registrar.gmu.edu
Religious Holidays
A list of religious holidays is available on the University Life Calendar page. Any student whose
religious observance conflicts with a scheduled course activity must contact the Instructor at least
2 weeks in advance of the conflict date in order to make alternative arrangements.
Copyright © 2010 Irene E. Bruno, PhD. All rights reserved.
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Attendance Policy
Students are expected to attend each class, to complete any required preparatory work (including
assigned reading – see Schedule above) and to participate actively in lectures, discussions and
exercises. As members of the academic community, all students are expected to contribute regardless
of their proficiency with the subject matter.
Any student who expects to miss more than one class session is strongly advised to drop the course
and take it in a later semester when he/she can attend every class. On an occasional basis, students
may attend the corresponding lecture in the other section if they must be absent during their section.
Departmental policy requires students to take exams at the scheduled time and place, unless there are
truly compelling circumstances supported by appropriate documentation. Except in such
circumstances, failure to arrive to the exam site on time for a scheduled exam will result in a score of
zero (0) for that exam, in accordance with Mason policy on final exams. Students should not make
travel plans or other discretionary arrangements that conflict with scheduled classes and/or exams. If
the University is closed due to weather or other unforeseen conditions, final exams may be
rescheduled – students are strongly advised not to make plans that would prevent them from attending
exams that may be rescheduled during the entire exam period.
Classroom conduct
Students are expected to conduct themselves in a manner that is conducive to learning, as directed by
the Instructor. Any student who negatively impacts the opportunity for other students to learn will be
warned – if disruptive behavior continues, the student will be asked to leave the classroom.
Electronic devices are potential distractions in the classroom environment. Cell phones, pagers and
other handheld devices must be turned off or set to "silent" mode and not used while class is in
session. Laptop computers and similar devices may be used only if such use is directly related to the
classroom activity in progress – for some activities the Instructor may require that such devices not be
used in order to maximize student engagement.
Communications
Registered students will be given access to a section of the Blackboard Learning System for this
course. Blackboard will used as the primary mechanism (outside of lectures) to disseminate course
information, including announcements, lecture slides, homework and other assignments, and scores
for homework and exams.
Communication with the Instructor on issues relating to the individual student should be conducted
using Blackboard Mail, GMU email, via telephone, or in person - not in the public forums on
Blackboard. Blackboard Mail is the preferred method – for urgent messages, you should also attempt
to contact the Instructor via telephone. Federal privacy law and GMU policy require that any
communication with a student related in any way to a student's status be conducted using secure
GMU systems – if you use email to communicate with the Instructor about any grade issues you
MUST send messages from your GMU email account.
Copyright © 2010 Irene E. Bruno, PhD. All rights reserved.
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Syllabus
Lecture slides are complements to the lecture process, not substitutes for it.
All course materials (lecture slides, assignment specifications, etc) are published on Blackboard in
Adobe® Portable Document Format (PDF) or in a format for which a free reader is available (such as
Microsoft PowerPoint). This allows users of most computing platforms to view and print these files.
Microsoft® Word (or a compatible word processing application) is required for preparing assignments
– it is available on computers in the Mason open labs.
Privacy
Instructors respect and protect the privacy of information related to individual students.
As described above, issues relating to an individual student will discussed via email, telephone or in
person. Instructors will not discuss issues relating to an individual student with other students (or
anyone without a need to know) without prior permission of the student.
Assessable work other than exams will be returned to individual students directly by the Instructor (or
by a faculty or staff member or a Teaching Assistant designated by the Instructor, or via another
secure method). Under no circumstances will a student's graded work be returned to another student.
Faculty and staff will take care to protect the privacy of each student's scores and grades.
Disability Accommodations
The Office of Disability Services (ODS) works with disabled students to arrange for appropriate
accommodations to ensure equal access to university services. Any student with a disability of any
kind is strongly encouraged to register with ODS as soon as possible and take advantage of the
services offered.
Accommodations for disabled students must be made in advance – ODS cannot assist students
retroactively, and at least one week's notice is required for special accommodations related to exams.
Any student who needs accommodation should contact the Instructor during the first week of the
semester so the sufficient time is allowed to make arrangements.
Copyright © 2010 Irene E. Bruno, PhD. All rights reserved.
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IT 108
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Syllabus
Honor Code
All members of the Mason community are expected to uphold the principles of scholarly ethics.
Similarly, graduating students are bound by the ethical requirements of the professional communities
they join. The ethics requirements for some of the communities relevant to Applied IT graduates are
available via the following links:
 ACM Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct
 IEEE Code of Ethics
 EC-Council Code of Ethics
On admission to Mason, students agree to comply with the requirements of the
GMU Honor System and Code1. The Honor Code will be strictly enforced in this course. Honor
Code cases are heard by a panel consisting of students – students who meet the requirements are
encouraged to nominate themselves to serve on the Honor Committee.
Any use of the words or ideas of another person(s), without explicit attribution that clearly identifies
the material used and its source in an appropriate manner, is plagiarism and will not be tolerated.
Dean Griffiths has mandated a "zero tolerance" policy for plagiarism within The Volgenau School.
The Instructor reserves the right to use manual and/or automated means (including such services as
Safe Assign and MOSS – Measure of Software Similarity) to detect plagiarism in any work submitted
by students for this course, and to direct Teaching Assistants and/or other faculty and/or staff
members to do likewise in support of this course.
For this course, the following requirements are specified:

All assessable work is to be prepared by the individual student,
unless the Instructor explicitly directs otherwise.

All work must be newly created by the individual student for this course for this semester.
Any usage of work developed for another course, or for this course in a prior semester, is
strictly prohibited without prior approval from the instructor.
Students may seek assistance with assigned work, (and are encouraged to do so) provided:



1
The directions for the assigned work do not prohibit such assistance.
Such assistance is acknowledged in the submitted work, clearly identifying the person(s)
giving assistance and the nature of the assistance given.
Any work to be submitted is prepared entirely and exclusively by the student submitting it.
Students are expressly prohibited from sharing any assessable work for this course in any
manner with other students (except students assigned as Teaching Assistants to this course
and the student's section), unless all students involved have had their work graded and
returned by the Instructor, or the Instructor has explicitly approved such sharing.
Available at www.gmu.edu/catalog/apolicies and related GMU Web pages.
Copyright © 2010 Irene E. Bruno, PhD. All rights reserved.
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